


The Best Autumn Ever

by merlypops



Series: 5SOS Halloween/Autumn Stories [3]
Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, Anxiety, Autumn, Boys In Love, Camping, Cashton, Denial, Depression, Drinking Games, Falling In Love, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Friends to Lovers, Ghost Stories, Halloween, Happy Ending, Healing, Idiots in Love, Light Angst, M/M, Muke - Freeform, Mutual Pining, Seasonal, Swearing, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Truth or Dare, Underage Drinking, fall - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-04
Updated: 2015-11-10
Packaged: 2018-04-19 00:18:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 19,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4725671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merlypops/pseuds/merlypops
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'It was a cool windy day but their drinks were hot and their cheeks were <i>flaming</i> at their proximity and… and really, even they had to admit that their friends had a point because it was shockingly blatant how obvious the pair were being about their feelings when they looked at each other and had to fight down identical goofy smiles.<br/>“I want this to be the best autumn ever,” Luke said as they sipped their drinks. Michael looked up with a whipped cream moustache on his upper lip and Luke’s heart kind of melted.<br/>“I think we can do that for you,” Michael said.'</p><p>
  <b>Luke and Michael are too scared to admit that they like each other, Calum and Ashton want them to get their shit together (and are also dating), and the four of them have the best autumn ever.</b>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bambi Eyes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [badtemperblue](https://archiveofourown.org/users/badtemperblue/gifts).



> because I love Ida very very very much and she got so excited about this story and no one deserves this more than she does ♥
> 
> This was actually going to be a oneshot at first but I got so carried away with loads of cute fluffy scenarios that I planned like 6 pages so now it's going to be a little fic instead! Autumn/Halloween is my very favourite time of the year so I'm really excited to write this!
> 
> I hope you guys will like this! :)

The sky was golden and the leaves on the trees were shades of amber, emerald and ruby. It was like walking through a treasure chest almost. The trunks of the trees were the colour of coffee and the conkers littering the leaf debris on the ground were gleaming like they’d been polished to a shine.

All of it dimmed in comparison to Luke though.

He was wandering along beside Michael with a beanie pulled down over his fluffy blond hair and a soft smile playing across his pale lips as he sucked at his lip-ring. It made Michael’s heart flutter pathetically in his chest and he just _knew_ he was watching Luke with great big doe eyes again but it wasn’t like he could exactly _help_ it and -

Michael caught his foot and tripped over, face-first onto the pavement. Luke’s hands were cold in his fingerless gloves as he hauled Michael back up to his feet again and, yeah, Michael probably needed to watch where he was going when he was walking around because tripping over was definitely _not_ a cool thing to do.

Luke was distracting though, with his pretty blue eyes and pale skin and gentle cheeky smiles lighting up his face.

A (probably enormous) positive was that Luke felt the same way.

He got butterflies sometimes when he looked up and caught Michael watching him with this tiny little smile twisting his cherry-red lips. Luke liked Michael’s soft brightly coloured hair and his glitter-soft emerald green eyes.

Luke was aware he was definitely pining over Michael though because it wasn’t _just_ the currently black-haired boy who tripped over flat surfaces at the slightest provocation. Luke did too, rather frequently when his fawning proved too distracting and he forgot how to lift his feet up properly.

It was a little embarrassing but, you know, at least they were being subtle about it.

*

Luke and Michael were _not_ being subtle about it.

Calum and Ashton were starting to get pissed off now. Michael and Luke had been dancing around each other for _months_ , both of them too scared to make the first move and, honestly, it was getting to be a bit ridiculous now.

Calum just wanted to focus on wooing his boyfriend further but that was proving _really_ fucking difficult when Michael and Luke were busy gazing at each other like lovestruck idiots from across whatever room they happened to be in at the time.

When Michael face-planted the ground and Luke practically _threw_ himself forwards to help the older boy up, Calum turned to Ashton who rolled his hazel eyes so hard that they looked like they were about to fall out of his head.

“When are they going to make out?” Calum asked bluntly and, nearby, Luke made a spluttering sound and leapt away from Michael so quickly that the blond boy almost stumbled into the road.

“Stop teasing them,” Ashton said reprovingly but he was frowning a little bit and the tanned boy knew his boyfriend agreed with him. Ashton’s full lips twitched and he giggled softly into his gloved hands and, when he lowered them, his expression was smug. “They could be like us but they’re playing.”

“You’re so fucking _lame_ ,” Calum said but his eyes were _shining_.

Ashton was his favourite person in the world.

And, judging by the Bambi eyes that the blond boy was shooting at an unknowing Michael right now, Luke had a favourite person too.

Calum sighed deeply, nudging Ashton and gesturing in their two best friends’ direction.

He just wished they’d get their shit together honestly.

Calum got his chance to complain about it soon too.

The four of them left the tree-lined road that Michael lived on and started the short walk into town, heading for the arcades beside the bowling alley which was their destination. They wanted to get burgers and fries, and waste their pocket money on the penny machines, and Ashton had his heart set on lilac-coloured candy floss too so the arcade had seemed like a good place to start.

The very moment they entered the arcade, Michael (predictably) headed straight for the _Alien_ game by the back wall. He’d barely picked up the plastic shotgun before Calum was beside him though, leaning against the wall as casually as he could while he waited for Michael to pay.

“So…” Calum said leadingly, sniggering to himself when Michael jerked the gun round to shoot at one of the aliens. “When are you going to ask our dear sweet Lukey boy out on a date?”

Michael spluttered, missing the alien by about ten _miles_ and fixing Calum with a very pissed off look as he frantically scrabbled for an eloquent answer that went somewhere along the lines of: “I… I d-don’t - _w-what_?! Shut up, Cal. Just s-shut up.”

“Right,” Calum said, nodding his head slowly like he was wise or something. “Very convincing, Mikey. I see that I was mistaken after all and that you don’t like Luke at all.”

“I didn’t say that,” Michael muttered darkly and Calum grinned at the black-haired boy like the little shit he was.

“Better ask him out then,” he said, shrugging easily as he turned to lope away. Glancing back over his shoulder, Calum smirked a little at Michael’s outraged expression. “The alien just killed you by the way, Mike. You should really have paid more attention.”

“Fuck you, you little shit,” Michael said grumpily, pushing more coins into the slot and shooting at the aliens with venom. He kept pausing to look over his shoulder at Luke though and it wasn’t long before he’d lost the game again, much to his extreme annoyance (and Calum’s glee because, like Michael said, Calum was a little shit).

Across the arcade, Luke and Ashton were having a similar conversation.

“- but, Ash, I _can’t_!” They were standing beside the penny machines. Luke was wasting all of his change and Ashton was eating his candy floss with a content expression on his face.

“You can,” Ashton said firmly, waving his treat in a menacing manner and fixing Luke with the sort of expression their old history teacher had worn often whenever someone got an answer wrong. “You need to tell Mikey how you feel. Then you two can date and hold hands and kiss and stuff. It’ll be cute.”

Luke’s cheeks flushed red and he looked down, biting at his bottom lip and nibbling on his lip-ring again. At last the blond boy looked up and sighed pitifully, nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

“Why’ve you gotta keep telling me the damn truth, Ashy?” Luke demanded at long last.

Ashton smiled.

His best friends would be dating before long.

*

Luke and Michael were decidedly _not_ dating.

They were too shy and, according to Calum, too “emotionally constipated” to actually get any real _words_ out (because, if Ashton was telling the truth, awkwardly stammering at each other and blushing before one - or both - of them scampered away to hide didn’t count as a real conversation about their feelings).

Michael and Luke were starting to spend more time alone together though which was definitely something (and if Calum had fallen off his bed in excitement when Ashton had texted him this update then no one else had to know).

Calum and Ashton were on a date - which probably equated to pancakes and sex if they were being honest - so Luke had suggested meeting Michael in a little coffee shop in town that Calum’s older sister Mali had praised once. It was cute in there, small and comfortably furnished with flowers in vases and pretty pictures hanging in frames on the wall.

They bought hot chocolates with whipped cream and flakes adorning the sugar-sweetened liquid and, since they were bundled up in scarves and hats and gloves, they decided to sit on one of the little tables tucked away on the decking outside.

It was a cool windy day but their drinks were hot and their cheeks were _flaming_ at their proximity and… and really, even they had to admit that their friends had a point because it was shockingly blatant how obvious the pair were being about their feelings when they looked at each other and had to fight down identical goofy smiles.

“I want this to be the best autumn ever,” Luke said as they sipped their drinks. Michael looked up with a whipped cream moustache on his upper lip and Luke’s heart kind of melted.

“I think we can do that for you,” Michael said and his expression was so hopeful and he was clearly blushing so hot that Luke could have fried eggs on his cheeks and - and really, that was a weird saying anyway because why would you want to fry food on someone’s _face_? Like, that just seemed really grossly unhygienic and Luke didn’t want to eat _face eggs_ and -

He was getting distracted.

“That sounds really fun,” he said, several seconds too late, and the amount of _fond_ on Michael’s face hurt to look at. “We can decorate pumpkins and go on tractor rides and stuff. Doesn’t that sound fun, Mikey?”

“It does sound fun,” Michael allowed but his lips were threatening to tug up into what _might_ be considered a beam so he quickly hid his smile behind the rim of his mug. “We could do baking and stuff too if you like. That can be fun.”

“Yes!” Luke exclaimed excitedly, his face kind of glowing now which definitely _wasn’t_ giving Michael heart palpitations or anything. “We can make toffee apples and cookies and apple crumble and casseroles and -”

“You’re so cute when you’re excited.”

Michael blurted the words without thinking and they surprised Luke so much that he made a little hiccuping sound, staring at Michael in shock with his cheeks flaming and his mouth open in a small surprised _O_ -

And then Luke started to smile, slow and soft and very, _very_ beautiful, and Michael knew he was completely and utterly screwed.

“We… I… um… I should probably get going…” Michael mumbled, lurching to his feet and knocking into the table so that the dregs of his hot chocolate spilt onto the wood. Luke pushed his chair back so that he was out of harm’s way but his cornflower blue eyes were still soft when they settled on Michael’s face. “Uh… my… my mum needs me to… um… make dinner for her…”

“Mike, it’s ten in the morning,” Luke pointed out with amusement but he shook his head softly, fighting a grin as he got to his feet too. “It doesn’t matter. We can all meet up later, make some plans for the best autumn we’ve ever had.”

Luke gave Michael a goodbye hug and neither of them commented when it went on for _far_ too long to be strictly platonic. Michael’s arms wrapped around Luke’s waist of their own accord and the blond boy tucked his face away safely into Michael’s shoulder, trying to be sneaky when he warmed his cold little nose on the older boy’s neck.

Luke’s blond hair was soft against Michael’s cheek and the black-haired boy inhaled without thinking, sighing contentedly like he thought Luke smelt good.

The blond boy’s cheeks were flushed scarlet when he pulled away and Michael stared at him in panic.

“Um… your laundry detergent! You smell of laundry detergent! Uh… it… it’s r-really smelly! I… I mean g-good! It smells really good! Um… Bye, Lukey! _Luke_! Goodbye, _Luke_!”

Luke’s expression was so, _so_ fond when the older boy stumbled away.

“By the way,” Luke called out after Michael as the older boy hurried away. “I think you’re cute too!”

Luke pretended not to notice when Michael tripped over his own feet again.


	2. Lucky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys will like it!

The first idea the four of them had for Luke’s “Best Autumn Ever” was a camping trip.

Calum and Ashton had found a clearing during a hike they’d went on a few weeks previously out in the wood behind Luke’s house so that was their destination. Calum was carrying the tents because Ashton “ _was not a pack mule and did not appreciate being treated like one_ ” and there was a lot of grumbling as the pair of them trudged through the mud in their wellies.

Calum had conveniently sent Michael and Luke the wrong time so the pair had turned up half an hour late and received another text half an hour later apologetically explaining that they would have to walk up to the clearing by themselves.

It wasn’t too bad at first. Their bags were pretty light and they sang their favourite All Time Low songs as they wandered along beneath the colourful leaves but the sky soon began to darken and, by the time the pair of them were climbing over the low wooden fence and leaving the path behind, it had started to rain.

“Are… are we nearly there?” Luke asked meekly. The pair had come to a stop beside the brook and the surface of the narrow river was disturbed by raindrops.

“Almost,” Michael promised, glowering up at the stormy sky. “We need to get across this and then the camp is only ten minutes away. I promise.”

“Hmm… okay…” Luke didn’t look convinced as the rain began to soak his quiff but he offered Michael a weak smile anyway, hefting his backpack up on his back and taking a few steps away, so that he could make a running leap over the thin winding river.

Michael copied him and, for just a few seconds, they were airborne.

Michael landed heavily, stumbling a little but catching his footing quickly before he could fall. Luke wasn’t so lucky.

He slipped in the mud as he landed, falling flat on his back and blinking back what _might_ have been tears. Michael was by his side at once, sliding his arm around the younger boy’s waist and helping him up.

“Are you okay?” Michael asked anxiously.

“Y-yeah, I… I t-think so,” Luke stammered, shaking his head ruefully and taking a hesitant step forwards, away from Michael. Luke sagged the moment he put any weight on his left foot, going a curious shade of green. Michael’s face fell and he wrapped his arm around Luke’s waist again, steadying him.

“Oh no,” Luke breathed, squeezing his eyes shut tightly when tears threatened again.

“Lukey,” Michael said softly, his eyes pained. “Did you twist your ankle when you fell?”

Luke nodded mournfully as his eyes teared up again.

“I t-think I sprained it b-but… but I don’t w-want to go home,” the blond boy said sadly, sniffing as Michael pursed his lips, considering their situation.

“Well… well, we’re already pretty far out here,” the older boy said at last, ruffling his rain-wet hair ruefully before he removed his backpack and pushed it into an unresisting Luke’s arms. “So put that on your back and I’ll give you a ride to the camp, okay? It’s probably better if you just try and rest it.”

“W-what?” Luke whispered but his eyes weren’t so forlorn now that he knew he wouldn’t have to go home. “What do you mean?”

“Put the bag on,” Michael said and Luke grinned weakly, shouldering Michael’s backpack and watching him with confusion.

“How are we going to get to the clearing if I can’t walk properly?”

“It’s simple,” Michael said, shrugging as he turned his back on Luke and stretched his arms out. “I’ll give you a piggyback ride, Lukey. Climb up.”

The blond boy was blushing the colour of a fire engine by the time they started to move again but Michael’s black hair smelt nice when Luke tucked his face away to avoid the rain and Michael could feel Luke’s warmth soaking comfortingly through his back.

“Almost there, Lukey,” Michael said softly and Luke chose not to comment, not wanting to accidentally make Michael awkward because the black-haired boy was quite likely to send them both toppling onto the floor and Luke figured they could probably do without further injuries.

The rain lessened as they neared the clearing where Calum and Ashton were setting up the two tents and, by the time they reached the camp, Luke was feeling a lot better.

Maybe he hadn’t sprained his ankle after all.

*

The four of them told ghost stories around their pitiful excuse for a campfire that night.

Luke - whose ankle was feeling better the longer he rested it - went first, spinning a ridiculous tale that he had almost _certainly_ plagiarised from the Shrek movies about a troll with a penguin sidekick who had to save their village. It was lame at best and, while Calum and Ashton spent the entire story rolling their eyes and trying not to laugh, Michael sat there with his legs crossed and an expression that closely mirrored the heart-eyes emoji.

The black-haired boy went next and his emerald green eyes were glittering when he told a relatively scary story about a Wendigo that lived in the woods they were in that definitely _didn’t_ scare Calum right into Ashton’s lap. (Only Luke realised that Michael’s entire story was a terrible copy of his new favourite video game Until Dawn.)

When it was Calum’s turn, he pretty much just rambled about a rabid dog for twenty minutes - clearly stolen from the Stephen King book Cujo which just confirmed Luke’s theory that all of them were unimaginative thieves - before Ashton finally kissed him quiet and proceeded to traumatise Michael.

The curly-haired boy leant closer to the weakly crackling twigs that made up their campfire and began to talk in a low, sinister voice. The story was about Slenderman - probably enough said to be honest - and even Calum was begging for Ashton to shut up by the time the oldest boy finally stopped talking.

Luke had gone a bit pale and Calum was hugging himself tightly. Michael was definitely _not_ trembling, okay? It was just… cold… He wasn’t even internally crying. Not even a _little_ bit.

“Okay,” Ashton said, smirking slightly as he stood up from the log and stretched easily. He caught Calum’s hand and towed his boyfriend towards one of the tents, grinning as he mumbled: “At least they’ll probably hug each other now.”

“You’re cruel, Irwin,” Calum laughed as the two disappeared into their tent. A torch was illuminated inside for a few moments as they sorted their sleeping bags out and their low voices could be heard but, after a minute, the light flickered out and the pair quietened.

Michael swallowed audibly, looking up at Luke with wide green eyes. The full moon was shining through the clouds overhead and… okay… maybe Michael was a _tiny_ little bit scared.

Fucking Ashton.

“You okay, Mikey?” Luke asked, his pretty blue eyes crinkling with slight amusement as Michael looked over at him wildly (and Luke’s heart didn’t even start pounding harder when the black-haired boy gripped his hand tightly then so shut up).

“Y-yeah,” Michael mumbled unconvincingly. “Um… c-can… can we get in the tent now?”

“C’mon, Mikey,” Luke said softly, rising stiffly and wincing a little when his foot ached. It was a lot better than it had been earlier though and he took comfort from that.

Michael stamped the fire out before he half-ran towards the tent, apparently hating having his back to the dark woods as he dragged Luke along behind him. It was kind of funny when Michael caught his foot on the tent’s opening and managed to hurl himself face-first onto his sleeping bag but Luke still felt sorry for him when he saw the wounded look on Michael’s face.

“You’ve gotta slow down, Mike, or you’re gonna hurt yourself,” Luke said and… yeah, okay, that might have been a bit hypocritical but he just wanted Michael to be safe because Luke cared about him probably _way_ too much and -

Yeah. Dangerous line of thought.

“Shut the tent! Shut the tent!” Michael squeaked and… Luke’s heart was actually melting right now.

“It’s done,” Luke said as he hurriedly zipped the tent up. It was cold in there and smelt distinctly like plastic. Luke dragged a jumper out of his backpack and struggled into it over his clothes, tugging the soft material down over his hands. “Have you brought anything warm to wear?”

“No,” Michael said with a slight frown, momentarily distracted. He shivered again, pouting slightly. “But I’m cold.”

Luke grinned, having actually expected this scenario.

“I have a spare hoodie,” he explained, tossing it Michael’s way and suppressing a smile when the black-haired boy pulled it on and blurted: “It smells like you.”

“Is that bad?” Luke asked innocently, praying that Michael couldn’t see how much his cheeks were flaming in the darkness.

“No,” Michael said quietly and they just kind of sat there looking at each other, eyes glinting through the darkness and -

The wind howled, shaking the tent, and Michael’s face went white.

“Let’s get in our sleeping bags,” Luke said quickly because the older boy looked like he was going to cry now. Damn Ashton, honestly.

The pair snuggled down and Luke pulled a quilt from his backpack to spread over them - at least _he’d_ come prepared - and when Michael’s cold little hand found his through the darkness, Luke didn’t comment.

“Scary story, huh?” he said instead and Michael bit his bottom lip hard, looking fearful.

“You… you don’t think Slenderman is _real_... d-do you?” the older boy whispered.

A twig cracked outside and Michael actually let out a little scream.

Luke’s face fell.

“He’s not real, Mikey,” the blond boy promised but they heard a weird groaning sound and Michael’s eyes went wide with terror. Luke bit his lip for a moment before he came to a decision, unzipping his sleeping bag a little so that he could wrap his arms around Michael.

The black-haired boy froze for a moment before he almost seemed to _melt_ , slumping down against Luke’s chest as the blond boy held Michael closer.

His lips brushed the top of Michael’s head before he’d even stopped to consider it and the older boy let out a little sigh as he hid his face in one of Luke’s broad shoulders.

Another of the strange sounds drifted towards them and Luke tightened his grip, cuddling Michael closer still. Neither of them let go all night long.

(The weird sounds the pair could hear turned out to be Calum and Ashton having sex. Michael kind of wished it _was_ a ghost… maybe not Slenderman though.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's be real here, this wasn't angsty at all but this is still probably the most angsty part out of the whole story.  
> I hope you liked it! Please let me know what you thought :)


	3. Baby Bird

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not really that happy with this update but I feel like crap today so maybe that's why idk.  
> Hopefully this doesn't suck too badly.

They got back from their slightly disastrous camping trip early on Sunday afternoon and, although the four of them probably _should_ have been bored of being cooped up with each other, they decided to hang out at Luke’s house together for the remainder of the weekend instead. None of them particularly wanted to go back to school the next day and this seemed as good a plan as any.

“Let’s make toffee apples!” Michael declared, and Calum and Ashton looked around with interest as Luke straightened up sharply, banging his head inside the fridge from where he’d been getting a can of coke. “Lukey said he wanted to bake the other day so we should bake! And toffee apples are autumn-y so… yeah…”

“That sounds great!” Luke beamed, rubbing his sore head but grinning all the same. The black metal of his lip-ring caught the light and Michael’s heart fluttered.

(“ _Lukey_?!” Ashton hissed, hazel eyes widening. Calum punched the air in triumph.)

“What do we need to do to make them?” Luke asked as he hoisted himself up onto the counter and cracked his can open, sipping at it as he began to swing his legs back and forth, apparently very content as he set his three best friends loose in his kitchen.

Michael searched a recipe on Google but it took him more than three different searches before he settled on one because: “Eurgh, we’re not putting _vinegar_ in them!” (No one had the heart to tell him that he’d need to add vinegar to it anyway or they would end up with no toffee.)

In the end, the toffee apples didn’t actually turn out as badly as they could have done.

Luke and Ashton were given the task of washing the apples and then covering them with boiling water before they had to push the lolly sticks through the fruit since they had no wooden skewers handily lying around.

“You’re really good at that,” Michael said dreamily as he propped his chin on his palm, watching Luke with a soppy smile on his face.

“What…? Stabbing apples with sticks?” Ashton interrupted doubtfully and Luke went red when Michael scowled at the oldest boy, flushing crimson too.

“Guys, c’mon!” Calum prompted and Luke ran a hand through his blond hair ruefully, cringing a little when his hair got wet from the water he’d used to wash the apples.

Next, perhaps dangerously, Calum and Michael were given the task of making the toffee by dissolving sugar in a pan before adding vinegar and syrup. The kitchen had begun to smell lovely by this stage and Michael raised his head, smelling the air like a little kitten. It made Luke’s heart melt.

All four of them did the next part, carefully dipping and twisting each apple in the hot toffee before they put them on a baking tray to dry. It should have been relatively easy in theory -

But that was only in theory.

Within about a minute, Michael had slopped the bottle of syrup all over his Metallica t-shirt, Luke had slipped over on his way to drop his empty coke can in the bin and - perhaps most clumsily - Calum managed to knock a _lot_ of quickly-hardening hot toffee into his boyfriend’s hair.

There was a moment of terrible silence before Ashton started yelling and Calum went very wide-eyed and frightened looking, and Michael and Luke sidled away innocently.

Luke had to cut a chunk of Ashton’s hair off in the end and it honestly took Michael over an hour of pleading Calum’s case before Ashton would even _think_ about forgiving his boyfriend again.

The two boyfriends left in a slightly awkward silence and the two remaining boys exchanged slightly shocked looks.

“More toffee apples for us at least,” Michael said eventually.

Luke punched his shoulder, rolling his eyes.

“You idiot,” Luke said.

It should _not_ have sounded so fond.

*

Michael stayed over at Luke’s house that night so Luke's mum Liz could give them a lift to school together the next morning. The black-haired boy hadn’t stayed over in a while so Luke was looking forward to it.

Michael left to get his school things from home and, during the thirty minutes he was out of the house, Luke scampered up the stairs and began to throw all of his dirty clothes into the laundry basket (or under the bed if he couldn’t be bothered to make another trip back out into the hallway).

“Why’re you so worried about tidying up?” one of Luke’s older brothers Jack asked as he stuck his head into Luke’s bedroom. The blond boy looked up, already flushing bright red at having been caught frantically folding underpants that he simply proceeded to fling under the bed. “It’s only Mikey.”

“Y-yeah, I… I g-guess…” Luke mumbled but he still went white when the doorbell rang downstairs.

“Better go get it,” Jack said with a grin, just as Ben called upstairs: “Luke? It’s for you!”

Luke only almost fell down the stairs twice so he counted that as a victory. He staggered to the door and pulled it open, positively _beaming_ when he saw Michael standing there with his backpack dangling from his shoulder.

“Mikey!” Luke said happily, taking the older boy’s backpack from him and slinging it onto his own back before he grabbed his best friend’s hand, tugging him lightly over the threshold. “I thought we could - Mike, have you _brushed_ your hair?”

Michael went bright red and, from the living room, Jack could be heard laughing.

“I - m-maybe,” Michael said, frowning at a spot on the floor as the blood heated his cheeks. Dimly, Luke thought that if Michael still had red hair then he’d look very much like a tomato. A pretty, _pretty_ tomato… Um… yeah…

“It’s cool,” Luke said, shrugging half-heartedly. “I got my hair wet earlier so I look like a baby bird now.”

“A really cute baby bird,” Michael interjected and he was halfway up the stairs before he realised what he’d said and tripped over his own feet.

“Thank you, Mikey,” Luke said quietly before the older boy could get too embarrassed. Luke gave Michael’s soft hand a gentle squeeze and he stared at Luke with wide emerald green eyes. “I think you’re really cute too.”

*

Luke hated when Ashton was right. The older boy got annoyingly smug about it and he never, _ever_ let anyone forget it.

In fact, right now, all Luke could think of was Ashton that day in the arcade, standing beside him eating lilac-coloured candy floss as he told Luke: “ _You need to tell Mikey how you feel. Then you two can date and hold hands and kiss and stuff. It’ll be cute._ ”

Luke and Michael were currently lying in Luke’s double bed now, cuddled up under the duvet as the stars turned in the sky outside. It was a cool evening and Michael was like a bloody space heater next to the blond boy whose feet were _really_ cold and… and it probably wouldn’t matter if Luke just sneakily tucked his feet beside Michael’s… would it?

The older boy grunted when Luke did that, pulling his feet away but, before Luke could really pout about it, Michael’s arms wrapped securely around Luke’s waist and his chin settled on the blond boy’s shoulder as he mouthed sleepily at the back of Luke’s neck and -

Wow. _Wow_.

Sexual frustration.

Luke might possibly be going to hell.

“Mikey? _Mikey_ ,” Luke hissed but his voice must have been too quiet to hear because the older boy didn’t answer.

Luke let out a little sigh as Ashton’s words spun around his head again.

“ **You need to tell Mikey how you feel.** ”

Luke inhaled shakily because… yeah… Ashton probably had a point to be honest. It had helped him get together with Calum after all and _they_ were happy.

So… so maybe Luke _should_ pull himself together and do it.

“I -” Luke’s voice sounded croaky in the darkness and he faltered, clearing his throat and trying again. “Mikey, I… um… I...” Luke swallowed, squeezing his eyes tightly shut because Michael was lying behind him awake right now and he must have been listening with wide eyes and -

And, damnit, Ashton was right.

Luke needed to just spit it out.

“Michael, I really, _really_ like you,” the blond boy said hurriedly, bracing himself for -

Nothing.

“Um…” Trying his hardest not to be offended, Luke twisted around and sighed deeply when he saw Michael’s beautiful ( _damnit_!) face because the older boy was fast asleep.

“Oh… w-well… well that explains it,” the blond boy mumbled, wriggling away a little bit and trying his hardest not to sulk.

Maybe it was a good thing Michael hadn’t heard.

Despite what Calum and Ashton thought, the black-haired boy probably didn’t even _want_ to be Luke’s boyfriend.

He was better off just staying quiet probably… and waiting for the feelings to go away on their own.

Almost like he could tell what Luke was thinking though, Michael’s arms tightened around the younger boy’s waist and he cuddled closer, softly mumbling something that sounded a lot like Luke’s name in his sleep.

The blond boy sighed deeply as he finally let himself relax into his best friend’s arms.

Luke was completely and utterly screwed.

Damnit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> Please let me know what you thought <3


	4. Pumpkin Soup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't felt up to writing much recently but hopefully this is cute idk.

The next week was long and full of homework, and Luke was exhausted by the time Friday rolled around. He stumbled through school with tired eyes and a glum look on his face, and nothing improved when the weekend began.

Luke woke up early on Saturday morning, sad without understanding why. He got days like that without warning, days where he felt a bit empty even when he was surrounded by people. He just got down sometimes and he knew he’d probably feel better by the next day but that didn’t make him feel any better now.

When Michael knocked on his front door at half past nine with a beanie pulled on over his messy black hair and an enormous Simple Plan sweatshirt hanging down to his mid-thigh, it felt like a blessing.

“Lukey,” the older boy said and his face fell when he saw his best friend’s face. Luke sort of _melted_ into Michael’s arms when he reached for him and the blond boy clung on tight, tucking his face away as Michael stroked his back comfortingly through the thin grey t-shirt he was wearing over ripped skinny jeans.

“Grab your coat, Lukey,” Michael said quietly and Luke wondered if he’d imagined Michael’s full cherry-red lips brushing the top of his head. “We’re going to have the most fun Autumn day ever.”

Luke’s lips twitched weakly but he still felt faded, hopeless...

“I’ve got you,” Michael promised and his soft hand was warm around Luke’s as he led him out of the front door.

They took a relatively long walk to a farm on the outskirts of their town but they didn't mind. They stayed holding hands although neither of them commented on it, simply blushing whenever they accidentally made eye contact as they walked along in companionable silence beneath the golden leaves spiralling from the trees.

There was a pile of pumpkins beneath the sign welcoming visitors and the pair of them followed the other guests into the farm. There was a plastic skeleton hanging from an old oak tree nearby, swaying gently in the wind, and Luke’s face lit up when he saw it as he jabbed his finger through the cool, crisp air towards it.

“Mikey! It’s Halloween-themed today! Already! And it’s not even October yet!” Luke said excitedly and Michael felt something calm inside him at the relaxed look on the blond boy’s beautiful face. “This is so cool!”

Luke tugged Michael along and the older boy went willingly. Seeing Luke smile was all he’d wanted.

They went around the Corn Maze first, where they got given laser guns and had to shoot at the people dressed as scarecrows who were following them. It was creepy and hilarious, and Luke and Michael laughed so much that they were breathless when they finally staggered back out into the open again, clinging to each other and giggling so much that their faces were flushed, their cheeks reddened with the cool wind.

The corn swayed like something was moving through it and Luke turned to Michael with his mouth open, about to say something when he just… stopped, found himself lost in the older boy’s eyes.

Luke didn’t know how long they stood there staring at each other - it could have been thirty seconds or it could have been half an _hour_ for all he knew - but something felt different when they finally looked away from each other and they held hands tighter because of it.

“How does the tractor ride sound now?” Michael asked but he sounded slightly winded, like he had done after that tickle fight he’d been having with Calum a month or two before when an overly-protective Ashton had accidentally managed to knee Michael in the stomach during his bid to save his boyfriend.

“That sounds great,” Luke said and he looked like he meant it. The pair began to walk across the muddy grass towards the fence that people were lining up beside. “Can we get some food afterwards though please?”

“Definitely,” Michael promised as they came to a stop at the back of the queue. Luke squeezed his hand in response, letting his head fall to rest gently on Michael’s shoulder as the tractor towed a wooden trailer full of benches slowly towards the waiting line of people. “They do really good pumpkin soup here if I remember right. The café’s amazing.”

“Pumpkin soup’s my favourite!” Luke said excitedly and Michael booped him on the nose then without really knowing why. Luke dimpled at Michael, blushing pink when the black haired boy gestured for him to climb up onto the trailer first.

“I know,” Michael said with a grin as he dropped down onto the bench beside Luke. “That’s why I chose here.”

They were quite high up on the trailer and it gave them a breathtaking view of the surrounding fields. It was a working farm and the crops were ready to be harvested now. In the near distance, Luke could see a field of horses running beneath the greyish-blue sky.

The tractor took them into the dense woodland that edged the eastern side of the farm and there were more people hiding in the trees, dressed in masks and cloaks, running out of their hiding places and yelling to make the delighted visitors jump.

At one point Michael even _screamed_ and Luke laughed so hard that people turned round to see what was going on.

The rest of the day continued in much the same vein: Michael slopped pumpkin soup all over the table they were seated at, Luke got flustered and tripped over his own legs before landing _right_ in Michael’s arms on their way out of the café, and the older boy bought Luke a soft plush piglet toy as a souvenir.

“This was the best day ever,” Luke said with shining eyes when the pair finally began the walk home later that afternoon. Their fingers were entwined again and Luke’s piglet - who had been named Norris for no clear reason other than Michael jokingly saying that it had a nice ring to it - had been tucked carefully beneath the younger boy’s arm as the pair wandered home together.

“I loved today,” Michael said in a soft voice and Luke’s eyes glittered.

“So did I,” he whispered.

When Luke smiled happily then, Michael knew everything was going to be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think <3


	5. Cheshire Cat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this is okay! I'm really looking forward to writing the next updates after this!

Michael had forgotten his packed lunch. Michael was sulking.

“Guys, I’m starving,” he complained to Calum and Ashton pitifully. His two best friends seemed more interested in kissing each other than they were in listening to the black-haired boy’s complaints. Luke hadn’t turned up yet.

“Guys, I’m wasting away here. I’m fading. I haven’t eaten since breakfast. Guys. Guys, please.”

“Michael,” Calum said grumpily as he pulled away from Ashton and fixed the green-eyed boy with a hard stare. “I saw you eating crisps at breaktime.”

Michael pouted at him.

“Yeah, but those were Luke’s so they don’t count.”

Ashton rolled his hazel eyes, fixing Michael with a sceptical look. He opened his mouth - probably to say something disparaging - but faltered when his phone began to vibrate on the table.

“Er… hello, Luke? Where the hell are you?” Ashton asked, scowling as Calum swiped the older boy’s apple juice and took a big slurp. “Oh,” the curly-haired boy said, smirking a little and nudging his boyfriend with a knowing look on his face. “Yeah, that sounds good. I - Yeah, he’ll be out in a bit, Luke. Word of advice though - he’s forgotten his lunch so he’s pouting like a lost puppy.” Ashton hesitated as the blond boy said something down the phone and a slow smile spread across Ashton’s face like treacle. “Sure, I’ll tell him.”

Ashton put his phone away and Michael frowned at him disapprovingly, not liking being talked about so obviously.

“What did Luke say?” he asked and the older boy full on grinned, Cheshire cat style.

“He’s waiting for you on the playing fields. He’s late because Mr Carter wouldn’t let his class out of chemistry.”

“I hate Mr Carter,” Michael grumbled but his heart was skipping excitedly in his chest at the prospect of spending some time alone with Luke. “I’ll see you two in maths,” Michael told them but Calum and Ashton were already lost in each other again, and Michael found he didn’t _really_ mind as he left the canteen with his backpack slung over one shoulder.

It was cool outside but not as cold as it had been the day before. The sky was a sombre grey and the leaves of the trees beside the shed where the footballs were kept were beginning to turn amber and gold now. Luke was sitting beneath them with his back pressed to the scuffed stone, huddled up in his too-big school jumper with the laces of his Converse untied as he waited.

Luke’s face lit up when he saw the older boy approaching and he _beamed_ when Michael dropped down onto the long grass beside him.

“It’s fucking cold out here,” Michael complained by way of greeting and Luke seemed to take that as an opportunity to pull the smaller boy into a hug. “But I’d rather be out here with you than in there with Ash and Cal. They’re eating each other’s faces again.”

“Wow, I’m so flattered,” Luke said, deadpan for a moment before he let another smile break across his face again.

“You know what I mean,” Michael said and Luke smiled gently at that, tucking his face away into Michael’s neck and pressing his cold nose to the warmth of the older boy’s skin.

“I do know,” Luke agreed. Another smile lit up his face suddenly and he pulled away to start rummaging through his satchel. “Ashy said you didn’t have any lunch so I thought you could share mine!”

“Aw, you didn’t have to do that, Lukey,” Michael mumbled but the taller boy was already excitedly pushing half a cheese sandwich and a handful of crisps into Michael’s hands so he couldn’t really say no, especially when his stomach started rumbling at the sight of the food.

The pair ate in silence for a few minutes, just sitting there and enjoying the warmth that came with them sitting pressed together as a cold wind picked up, tearing at the grass.

“Thank you,” Michael said quietly and Luke smiled, dropping a kiss onto Michael’s shoulder almost without thinking.

“That’s okay,” he said, soft and gentle.

The colourful leaves had been dropping from the trees above them for days and there was an impressive pile of them now, swept into a pile against the shed wall by the relentless wind.

When Luke suddenly gathered a handful of leaves and threw them at an unsuspecting Michael, they caught the black-haired boy full in the face. He spluttered, shocked for a moment before a slightly feral grin spread across his face and he threw some back.

Their epic leaf battle dissolved into a tickle fight soon enough and Luke let out the most adorable high-pitched giggle when Michael tackled him into the pile of leaves.

The blond boy struggled to escape from Michael’s tickling fingers, squirming and squeaking as he shoved clumsily at Michael. Eventually Luke’s flailing hand encountered Michael’s free arm, knocking it out from under him so that the older boy fell down on top of Luke.

The pair lay there, pressed warmly together as Luke exhaled shakily and Michael unconsciously wet his lips and -

The warning bell rang to signify that it was almost the end of lunchtime and Michael sighed softly, pulling away and entwining his fingers with Luke’s as he helped the younger boy up. Michael was breathing heavily, biting his bottom lip hard as he tried to pretend he was calmer than he felt.

Luke’s cheeks were flushed as he swung his bag up over his shoulder and Michael’s eyes were soft as he picked a stray autumn leaf out of Luke’s hair.

“C’mon,” Luke said softly, giving Michael’s hand a gentle squeeze before he shoved both of his own unwillingly into his pockets. “We’ve got maths.”

Michael pulled a face but he still smiled crookedly at Luke.

“Time for some exciting algebraic equations I should think,” he said and the blond boy shrugged, grinning back.

“My mum’s a maths teacher, Mikey,” he pointed out, smiling wider. “I don’t think I have to worry about this.”

Michael pouted. “You can help me then.”

“Always,” Luke said. He shivered as they began the long walk across the field back towards the school and Michael shrugged out of his coat, draping it over Luke’s shoulders and suppressing a smile when the taller boy inhaled subtly, closing his eyes like it made him feel safe.

Just before they went through the doors, Michael suddenly found himself with Luke’s arms wrapped tightly around his waist and Luke’s face tucked away into his neck.

“I really like you, Mikey,” Luke whispered and the wind threatened to steal his voice but, somehow, Michael still heard him.

“I really like you too, Lukey,” Michael said and Luke’s smile was enormous as he pulled away, hurrying off towards the maths classroom with Michael’s long coat draped around his shoulders like a cloak.

Michael’s smile was soft as he followed him.

Luke was his favourite person in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think :)


	6. Truth Or Dare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The tag "Idiots in love" really comes into play here, I promise you.

They had a sleepover at Calum’s house on Friday night. His parents were staying away and his older sister Mali had been tasked with looking after them and making sure they behaved. Luckily for them though, she had shut herself upstairs in her room with her boyfriend so they pretty much had the house to themselves.

“I want to do something autumn-y,” Luke whined. He was lying slumped on Calum’s sofa beside Michael, hyper aware of the warmth seeping into his skin where their thighs were pressed together. Calum was sitting in the armchair across from them with Ashton curled up under his arm, soft and sleepy and content for all of five seconds.

Suddenly the oldest boy sat up and smiled in a way that probably meant they were all going to get into trouble.

“Autumn-y, huh?” he said mischievously and Calum grinned like he could read his boyfriend’s thoughts. “Let’s make apple cider floats.”

The four of them bounded excitedly into the kitchen, all of them dressed in their pyjamas and sliding around in their socks on the Hood family’s tiled floor.

“Mikey, please can you get the vanilla ice cream out of the freezer?” Calum ordered and Luke giggled because apparently this was something his best friend already knew how to make well. “And, Ash, can you get the cider from the cupboards in the basement?”

Ashton looked suitably terrified at the prospect of venturing down into the basement alone so near to Halloween but he did as he was told, earning a vaguely suggestive smile from Calum, a distracted hum from Michael who was still searching for the ice cream - and Luke definitely _wasn’t_ looking at his bum - and a pout from the blond boy.

“Why can’t I do anything, Cal?” Luke demanded, folding his arms tightly over his navy blue pyjama top so that the penguin on the front was partially obscured. “Don’t you trust me?”

“You’ll just end up dropping something, Lukey,” Calum said with an air of great dignity but the soft smile Michael shot Luke when he straightened up persuaded Luke not to frown anymore.

“I found them!” Ashton called excitedly from the hallway but there was a faint scuffling sound and a dull chink which Luke thought he could safely assume was the older boy tripping over clumsily. Luke caught Calum’s gaze and raised his eyebrow wordlessly. The older boy grinned.

“We should do something fun once these are done, make it into a game,” Michael said as Calum rummaged around in the cutlery drawer for an icecream scoop and set to work.

“We could play truth or dare!” Ashton piped up, rubbing his knee distractedly where he’d tripped over coming up the stairs. “Or seven minutes of heaven!”

“ _NO_!” Calum and Michael yelled at the same time. Luke blushed and started giggling. Ashton choked on a laugh.

“Okay, okay,” the older boy said easily, grinning as he ran a hand through his honey-coloured curls. “Truth or dare it is.”

“That’s better,” Calum said ruefully, placing two scoops of vanilla ice cream into each glass that Luke helpfully (and not clumsily at all, shut up) placed on the counter for him.

“What do we do next?” Michael asked and Calum fixed him with the sort of scathing look that would have made anyone else shrivel up. Michael just snorted though, shoving Calum’s shoulder and making him drop his icecream spoon.

“Pour one cup of apple cider into each glass,” Calum explained but he didn’t have a way to measure it - none of them considered just using another glass - so the dark-haired boy simply poured a generous amount in and hoped for the best.

Luke had a feeling they were about to get quite drunk and, although Mali (and probably his mother too but hopefully she would never find out) would definitely _not_ like it, he shrugged his worries away, keen to have a good time.

The apple cider floats were hard to drink even _with_ straws and Luke ended up with icecream on his face although he wasn’t entirely sure how. They had all decided to go down to the basement now because, hey, it was almost Halloween (kind of, not really but Luke was excited so it didn’t really matter) and they were bundled up in quilts, sitting cross-legged with the light flickering dimly overhead.

Luke’s right knee was brushing Michael’s. He could feel himself getting distracted by it and he _really_ needed to concentrate if he was going to think of some good questions or dares for their game.

“Are we splitting into teams?” Luke asked before taking another sip of his drink. It tasted good, the punch of the alcohol muted by the vanilla as he sipped it as slowly as he could through the straw. He wasn’t sure it was really working though because his head already felt a bit fuzzy. (That might just have been his proximity to Michael though.)

“Yeah, good point. You and Mikey be a team, Lukey, and me and Cal will be too,” Ashton said instantly and Luke smirked. As if there’d even been any doubt.

They went left around the circle: Luke, Calum, Ashton, and finally Michael.

They started off relatively easy, with truths that barely made anyone blush - until Luke's turn.

"Luke, have you ever stolen anything?" Calum asked and the blond boy went bright red.

"I stole a grape from the supermarket once and I felt so bad that I literally cried like Lisa Simpson in that episode we watched last week," Luke said, clearly trying hard to remain deadpan although he ruined it all when his lips twitched. "And yes, before you ask, I really _am_ that lame."

"I don't think you're lame," Michael interjected softly and, once Calum had finished pretending to vomit, the game continued.

"Cal," Ashton said, fixing his boyfriend with a hard stare. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth," Calum said and Ashton thought for a moment before snorting quietly.

"How long have you gone without showering?"

Calum started laughing.

" _Way_ too long probably," he told his boyfriend honestly. "When they released 'Outlast' I just stayed in my room and played that for about five days so... yeah... Five days without showering I guess."

"That's it," Ashton said, looking extremely pained, much to Luke and Michael's amusement. "That's way too long. You're so gross. I'm breaking up with you."

"Liar," Calum said quietly but he never broke Ashton's gaze. "Truth or dare?"

Ashton hesitated for only a moment. "... Dare."

Calum crawled over - almost spilling his rapidly-disappearing drink in the process - to quietly concur with Luke and Michael while Ashton put his fingers in his ears, humming loudly.

"Okay, got one," Calum said and he was laughing again, full lips stretching into a wide smile as Ashton watched him warily.

"You have to give Michael a piggyback around the room," Calum said and Ashton exhaled heavily, looking relieved.

"He's bigger than me but... okay... I guess I'll try..."

(It ended in a stubbed toe, a great clatter of dusty boxes tumbling over, and Mali bellowing: “ _WHAT IS GOING ON DOWN THERE_?!" from the top of the stairs while her boyfriend Tom laughed at her. The four of them were giggling helplessly as they cleaned up the mess and returned to their nest of quilts. The game continued.)

It had been twenty minutes now and they were all starting to get tipsy which could possibly have contributed to Luke’s surprising calmness at his next question from Calum.

“Lukey,” the dark-haired boy said with glittering eyes that hinted at trouble. “How old were you when you had your first kiss?”

“Oh, _Calum_ ,” Luke sighed, hanging his head in embarrassment and huddling up under the quilt. “You _know_ I’ve never…” Luke shrugged, biting his lip and trying to pretend he wasn't mortified by this.

“Don’t be so mean, Cal,” Michael scowled, wrapping a protective arm around the blond boy’s waist and settling his chin on Luke’s shoulder.

“I’m not being mean!” Calum yelled defiantly but there was definitely _something_ buried deep in his eyes, like he was planning something. When he glanced to the side and caught Ashton’s gaze subtly, Michael became sure of it.

“Bonus round!” Ashton said suddenly, pointing at Michael and Luke gleefully. “Sudden death! All or nothing or… or _something_!”

Michael rolled his eyes, tightening his grip on Luke’s waist gently as the blond boy glanced warily up at him. Luke looked so pretty with his long eyelashes and his cheeks still flushed from Calum’s question, and it only made Michael want to hold him tighter.

“Why would we need a bonus round?” Michael asked coolly and Calum smirked.

“If you guys do this, you can get more points and win the game.”

“Is anyone actually keeping _track_ of the points?” Luke interjected quietly but no one commented.

“Michael," Ashton said loftily and his smile was mischievous. Apparently he had decided that there was going to be a bonus round anyway. Luke had a bad feeling about this. "Who is your current crush?"

Luke froze, Calum’s smile widened to truly epic proportions, Ashton slurped noisily at his drink and looked embarrassed that he'd single-handedly ruined the mood, and Michael just shook his head slowly, looking equal parts amused and irritated.

“That’s easy,” the black-haired boy said and he was calm for once. “Luke.”

It felt like one of those moments you only ever saw in films, when everything slowed down and blurred into muted colours and you could only see one thing in focus -

And it was **Michael**.

Luke could see _Michael_.

“ _Oh_ ,” the blond boy heard himself murmur, feeling stunned and shocked but also slightly stupid because it must have been so _obvious_ now but… but it had never been confirmed like this before.

Luke’s cheeks were flaming so hot that now he could probably have fried eggs on his _own_ cheeks and – and damnit, now wasn’t the time to be thinking about stupid  _face eggs_ again.

“Right, it’s Luke’s turn,” Ashton said and… and Luke was fairly sure he was lying but his head felt like it was full of cotton wool now and Michael wasn’t touching him anymore and Luke _needed_ the older boy’s arm to wrap around his waist again.

“Truth or dare?” Calum said and Luke had drained his glass and the cider was bubbling like nervous butterflies in his stomach and he spoke without thinking.

“Dare.”

A slow smile spread across Ashton’s face like treacle and Calum entwined his fingers with his boyfriend’s hand, clearly expecting someone to yell at him as he braced himself.

“We dare you to kiss Michael.”

“You pair of fuckers,” the black-haired boy said surprisingly calmly. His hand rose to settle on Luke’s broad trembling shoulder as he fixed Calum and Ashton with a hard stare. “I don’t think this game is funny anymore. You know Luke hasn’t kissed anyone. You _know_ I like him. You damn well  _know_ we don’t –“

“ _Don’t what_?” Luke whispered but no one heard him.

“Mikey, it’s only a joke,” Calum said quietly but Ashton bit his lip, looking lost. He scrambled to his feet after a moment’s thought, gathering their empty glasses and heading for the stairs.

“Um… good idea…” Calum looked lost. “We’ll start setting the mattresses up upstairs."

“Um…” Ashton looked guilty. “S-see you both in a bit…”

“Hmm.” Michael briefly considered informing them that he didn’t even want to stay anymore but there was no point in having a tantrum. He could just fix them both with that hard stare his mum was really good at and make them feel guilty that way instead.

The basement door fell shut and the lamp flickered.

Luke pulled his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them tightly as he rested his chin on them. He looked very small there, bundled up beneath the quilt with a glum look on his face.

"Were you lying?” Luke whispered and Michael looked up in confusion. “About liking me,” Luke clarified, his cheeks flaming red with blood as he bit his bottom lip hard, sucking at his lip-ring.

Michael’s emerald green eyes were soft.

"Why would you think that, Luke?" the black-haired boy breathed, looking stunned.

The silence that grew between them was prickly and painful. It made Michael’s breath catch in his throat, made tears prick in Luke’s beautiful sky blue eyes.

"You didn't want to kiss me," Luke breathed.

Michael’s heart was beating half to death.

"Because I don't want our first kiss to be in some stupid Truth Or Dare game with _those_ morons watching us and sniggering," Michael said with a little sniff but Luke barely heard him over the sudden pounding of his pulse in his ears. Michael’s cheeks were red too.

"I've never lost at Truth Or Dare before," Luke mumbled because he didn’t know what else to say and Michael hesitated at that, seeming to consider something before he shrugged fractionally.

"Better not start now then," he said softly, scooting forwards and raising Luke's chin gently with his finger as he pressed his lips gently against the blond boy's.

It was only the tiniest brush of lips but hot and cold shuddered through Luke - _electrifying_ almost – and his hands tightened in the quilt as his eyes fluttered shut of their own accord.

Michael’s mouth tasted like vanilla and apples. Luke wanted to touch Michael’s face.

They parted after a few seconds but Luke was breathing like he’d just ran up five flights of stairs.

“Who won the game?” Luke murmured, looking slightly dazed. Michael blinked back at him, vaguely resembling someone who had just been hit over the head rather hard.

“I don’t know,” he said honestly.

When the black-haired boy climbed unsteadily to his feet and disappeared back upstairs to get a drink of water (or maybe to punch Calum and Ashton), the room felt darker and colder without him.

Luke half wanted to call for Michael to come back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this isn't too bad! Please let me know what you thought <3


	7. In The Darkness Outside

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this got kind of angsty and im sorry for that because this was supposed to be fluff and i really suck. sorry.

The pair of them were a little awkward for the next few days. They didn’t tell Calum and Ashton what had happened but they didn’t mention it to each other either.

After a couple of days Luke decided he just wouldn’t think about the kiss they’d shared anymore (and if that was practically impossible… well, he was good at pretending).

Luke was _not_ good at pretending.

He went bright red and stumbled over his words whenever Michael spoke to him, and it was so fucking _cute_.

Goddamnit, honestly. Michael was sick of feeling like this. He wasn’t going to keep pining anymore because he was too awkward to admit his feelings! He -

“Mikey, can we make cookies?” Luke asked as the pair followed Calum and Ashton home from school. “Not those two losers though. Just us.”

“Yeah, okay, Lukey,” Michael promised with a little laugh and -

Damnit. Maybe his plan needed some work.

“White chocolate chip cookies so the dough tastes nice too?” Luke asked hopefully and -

Yeah. Michael was screwed.

“This is going to be so much fun,” Luke said dreamily, his blue eyes all sparkly as his soft blond hair fluttered a little in the breeze and.... wow. Luke literally took Michael’s breath away. Calum and Ashton had wandered on ahead, and Michael let his arm brush Luke’s gently. He kindly pretended not to notice when the blond boy flushed scarlet, like Michael had been so prone to do a few weeks before.

“How’s your autumn going so far?” Michael asked and Luke smiled softly.

“It’s really, really lovely,” he said quietly and Michael gave his hand a squeeze. “Thank you.”

The pair got distracted when they got back to Michael’s house though, spending over an hour and a half playing Fifa instead until Michael finally beat a pouting Luke.

“ _Now_ shall we make those cookies?” Michael suggested when his stomach started rumbling and, sure, maybe his mum was working late and she _had_ left some food for him to heat up in the fridge but cookies were a better idea probably.

The suggestion worked too because Luke stopped pouting.

Their cookies didn’t turn out too badly in the end. They added a lot of chocolate chips and probably ate more of the dough than they should have done. It was all worth it though because Luke got flour on the end of his pointy little nose and Michael was almost _flailing_ at how cute the blushing blond boy was when Michael wiped it off with his sleeve.

They kind of guessed how long they had to bake them for at first - in the end they texted Mali and found out that it was around twenty minutes - but they didn’t mind the wait because they had the radio on and some pretty good music was playing. Luke sat on the counter in his socks and wrapped his arms around Michael’s shoulders, holding his best friend close as they hugged.

Neither commented but it was nice sitting there in each other's arms with the comforting smell of baking filling the room.

Michael burnt his finger getting the cookies out of the oven but Luke held his hand carefully under the cold tap and the older boy looked surprisingly calm about it. Luke thought maybe it had something to do with the warmth of the kitchen and the condensation on the glass as the stars twinkled in the darkness outside. The lamps were casting the room in a buttery glow and the cookies smelt amazing as the radio played softly in the background.

“I like you, Mikey,” Luke said before he could stop himself and it was like that day on the playing fields at school, lying tangled together beneath the vast grey sky.

Michael removed his burnt finger from his mouth and smiled at Luke, his cherry-red lips tugging up into a grin.

“I like you too,” he said and Luke beamed. Michael brushed the blond boy’s cheek gently with his fingertips but he didn’t lean in to kiss him so Luke didn’t initiate it either. (The blond boy thought he saw the faintest trace of disappointment in Michael’s eyes.)

“Do you want to stay over tonight?” the black-haired boy asked uncertainly but his face softened when Luke smiled, nodding at him hopefully. “You better check with your mum then,” Michael said and Luke relaxed, pulling Michael gently into another hug.

He was so glad Michael was his best friend.

“Maybe we could -” Luke began but he broke off with a yawn and Michael smiled at him as he drew away.

“I think you need to get some sleep,” Michael said but Luke was pouting again and, damnit, Michael could never deny him anything when he was looking at him with those shining blue eyes. “After we try a cookie?” Michael relented and Luke gave him such a sunny smile that it took the older boy’s breath away.

“That sounds like a plan,” the blond boy said happily.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur of dancing to the radio, eating too-hot white chocolate chip cookies, and racing each other up the stairs to see who could get to the bathroom and start cleaning their teeth first. (Spoiler alert: Michael won because Luke stubbed his toe and tripped over halfway up the stairs.)

They settled down in Michael’s double bed eventually, lying snuggled up together in their pyjamas with the curtains open to let in the starlight. Michael’s parents had come home a few hours ago now and Luke could hear the soft buzz of the television downstairs as they watched it.

It was a comforting sound, reminding Luke of when he was a little kid and the soft sound of the hushed voices on the television meant safety and comfort, meant that he’d be able to sleep at night because he knew he wasn’t there all alone.

But Luke wasn't alone now. He was with Michael and it helped calm the anxiety in his veins a little.

“You getting worried, Lukey?” Michael asked softly and… yeah, Michael knew Luke too well.

“I’ll be okay,” Luke promised because it was so _stupid_ that he still got anxious staying away from home and he should definitely feel okay now because he was with Michael but -

“It’s okay,” Michael whispered, wrapping his arm around Luke’s shoulders and carding his fingers gently through the younger boy’s blond hair. “We’ll just have to distract you instead.”

“How?” Luke mumbled, stretching the sleeves of his navy blue pyjama top down over his little hands as he snuggled closer into Michael’s side, tucking his cold feet between the older boy’s legs.

“Um…” Michael bit his lip, cuddling Luke closer as he tried to think. “What’s your favourite All Time Low song?”

Luke barely had to think about it. “Jasey Rae,” he said immediately and Michael smiled.

“I think that would suit your voice,” he said and Luke’s cheeks were flaming as he beamed at the older boy.

“Okay,” Michael said, stroking Luke’s hair again as they lay there in the darkness. It was already half past eleven and they had school the next morning but Michael didn’t even want to think about going to sleep until Luke was a lot calmer. “What about -”

“Your favourite Green Day song?” the blond boy asked and Michael smiled softly, pondering this for a few moments.

“I think it’s American Idiot,” the black-haired boy decided and Luke’s lips twitched weakly at that, like he should have expected it. “Well, what’s yours?” Michael asked, slightly defensively.

The blond boy bit his bottom lip as he lay there in the dark.

“Wake Me Up When September Ends.”

Michael kept stroking Luke’s hair but he didn’t really know what to say. He knew the blond boy had secrets - they all did and that was good probably, _healthy_ \- but he wondered if this had anything to do with the slumps Luke found himself in sometimes, or if maybe Michael was just reading too much into this.

“That’s a beautiful song,” he said thoughtfully but his voice was soft now, like he was scared to speak any louder in case something broke. “It’s sad though. Really sad.”

“Y-yeah, I know.” Luke’s voice was thick with _something_ and Michael froze when he felt something damp fall onto his hand.

“Lukey?” Michael breathed and… and damnit, he didn’t know what to do now. “Luke, are you -”

The older boy stopped himself from asking the question because, if their situations were reversed, he knew he would have _hated_ it if Luke had pointed out that he was crying.

“I’ve got you,” Michael whispered instead, like he’d promised that day when Luke was sad and they’d gone to visit the farm together… like he’d keep on promising _forever_ if it filled up the emptiness he sometimes saw glistening in Luke’s beautiful blue eyes.

“I k-know you do,” the blond boy choked out but his cheeks were flushed and the tears kept falling, and it made Michael’s whole _heart_ ache to see this side of Luke that he always hid from Calum and Ashton because… because there was a little part of Luke that was _hurting_ and Michael wanted to kiss the pain away but he didn’t even know if that would _help_.

“Mike,” Luke whispered and his trembling hands were soft as they cupped Michael’s cheeks in the darkness and, although the blond boy didn’t actually kiss him, it was very close. Luke’s lips brushed Michael’s jaw and the black-haired boy’s heart shuddered in his chest as he cuddled Luke closer, holding him tight to keep the shadows at bay.

“Go to sleep, Lukey,” Michael said softly and Luke was still crying in his arms but at least his breathing was less ragged now.

Michael had to hold Luke for _hours_ before he finally calmed down enough to fall asleep.

Michael was pretty sure he stayed awake all night long but, watching the early morning sunlight fall across Luke’s peaceful sleeping face, Michael knew he’d do it again in a heartbeat.

Luke was too important to him now.

He was _everything_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hopefully this isn't awful. please let me know what you think.. <3


	8. Sheltered Beneath The Stars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's taken me a little while to update but I wanted to make sure I didn't write angst again so I needed to be in the right mood :')  
> I hope this is okay!

The first of October fell on a Friday that year and the four of them decided that they were going to embrace Halloween. Their excuse was that they were doing it for Luke but the excitement was evident in all of their eyes as they walked down the tree-lined road that evening after school.

Calum was cradling his laptop like it was a child and Ashton was directing them all towards a deserted barn near his house. Michael was carrying a DVD they were going to watch and Luke was pouting (again) because he had only been trusted to hold a bag of toffee-flavoured popcorn (and Michael’s hand which… yeah… did kind of make it better).

Michael had refused to lend them his laptop because he didn’t want it to get broken so Calum was turning to scowl at the black-haired boy every few minutes. Calum looked appeased when Ashton stretched up on his tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek though which relieved Luke because that meant Michael would stop looking defensive and talk to the blond boy instead.

“What’s this barn like then?” Luke asked and Michael shrugged, letting his arm bump against Luke’s as the pair followed Calum and Ashton down the street. “You’ve been down there with him before, right?”

“Once or twice,” Michael said with another shrug. “It’s okay. Bit creepy probably. I’m presuming that was the point.”

“Oh,” Luke frowned, biting his bottom lip. Michael’s brow creased. “When you say it’s creepy…”

The black-haired boy’s expression cleared.

“I’ll take care of you,” he said and it might have been a joke except… that wasn’t what it sounded like.

“Thanks,” Luke said softly, dropping his free hand to tangle his fingers with Michael’s.

The black-haired boy’s emerald green eyes were soft as he gave Luke’s little hand a comforting squeeze. Michael frowned faintly.

“Are you cold, Lukey? Your hands are freezing,” Michael worried and… and he couldn’t help feeling so protective of the younger boy now. Ever since that night when the song had made Luke cry, Michael just wanted to hold his hand _all_ the time, wanted to cuddle him close and… and _kiss_ him as he promised him that everything was going to be okay.

“I’m a little cold I guess,” Luke said and a small smile lit up his face as Michael wriggled out of his All Time Low sweatshirt, helping Luke into it with mild difficulty considering they only had one hand free each. The jumper was soft and it smelt of Michael. Luke’s cheeks were pink.

“Thank you,” he mumbled, ducking his head as he sucked at his lip-ring and… yeah, Michael might have mild heart palpitations. Maybe.

“Are you two done flirting yet?” Calum called from up ahead, apparently still kind of sulking about the whole laptop thing. “Because the barn’s there. Also it’s getting dark. And we’re watching Zombeavers.”

Michael snorted with laughter at that since he’d apparently seen the film before. Luke hadn’t. He hoped he wouldn’t be scared.

They got the laptop and the film set up pretty quickly but the moon was already rising in the sky and the long grass in the surrounding fields swayed ominously as a cold breeze blew. Luke was sitting tucked under Michael’s arm, very conscious that the older boy was probably cold after giving his sweatshirt away but extremely grateful all the same.

It smelt like chocolate and raspberries, just like Michael’s shoulder did when Luke hid his face from the film, burying his cold nose in the warmth of Michael’s neck as Luke squeezed his blue eyes tightly shut at the screaming onscreen.

“You know… I think you might be the only person in the world who’s actually _scared_ of this film, Luke,” Ashton gasped out, wiping his tears of laughter away as he giggled into Calum’s neck.

“This is hilarious,” Calum agreed but Luke squeaked fearfully when a bird flew from the rafters of the barn and -

Yeah, he was kind of terrified.

“Oh, Lukey,” Michael said fondly, a soft smile tugging at his lips as he pulled Luke unthinkingly into his lap. The blond boy seemed to _melt_ back against him and Michael relaxed. “I’ll protect you from the nasty undead beavers, okay?”

“What a hero,” Calum said sarcastically and Michael snorted, tossing a handful of popcorn in the dark-haired boy’s general direction and making Calum squawk indignantly.

“Shut up and watch the film,” Michael said cheerfully, tucking his chin over Luke’s shoulder as he pressed a gentle kiss to the younger boy’s cool cheek.

Michael held Luke close, rubbing his arms to keep him warm as they continued watching the film. Michael’s lips were brushing the bare skin at the back of Luke’s neck though and fortunately it was distracting Luke from the college kids being killed horribly by evil zombie beavers.

Michael’s warmth was doing a marvellous job of keeping Luke’s fears at bay and the blond boy finally relaxed back against him when Michael pressed a kiss to his shoulder, much calmer now as the clouds rolled overhead and the four friends sat close together in the cold, sheltered beneath the stars.

Maybe the film wasn’t so scary after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!  
> I watched Zombeavers recently and like died laughing so I kind of had to write about it. Also Lexi Atkins in that film. Nice.  
> Please let me know what you guys thought <3


	9. All Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not very happy with this update but hey, I'm not very happy with anything right now so it goes with the pattern.  
> Hopefully this isn't too shit. Idek. Sorry if it is.

Every year one of the four of them hosted a Halloween party that most of their classmates attended with their families. It was always very noisy, very silly, and _very_ fun. Calum’s family were hosting it this year and the announcement made Luke so excited. He had been looking forward to it all year so it was with a surprising amount of enthusiasm that the blond boy agreed to help the Hood family bring all of the Halloween decorations up from the basement.

Luke was kind of regretting his decision now though. Calum and Ashton had decided they were going to check the garage so now Luke was the one who had to battle through the spiderwebs beneath the house in his search for ghost streamers.

It was dark down in the basement. Luke was trying not to think about Zombeavers or Shaun of the Dead or anything. He was kind of failing.

“Where are the damn boxes?” Luke mumbled, brushing his blond hair back off his forehead as he squinted through the darkness since turning the lamp on would clearly have made too much sense. “Joy said she’d labelled them…”

Luke’s heart kind of sank when he saw them because, sure, maybe he _was_ tall but the box had been put up on a shelf right near the damn ceiling and… yeah… Luke was going to have to jump.

Predictably, it didn’t end well.

Luke took a sweeping gazelle-style leap and, a few seconds later, found himself lying flat on his back on the floor with an assortment of pumpkin-patterned plastic cups and ghost streamers. His head was kind of aching a bit and he felt like an idiot because the empty, dusty box had landed on his head and -

Yeah… Now Luke was kind of starting to see why no one trusted him with carrying anything remotely valuable.

“Luke?” Michael’s voice was amused but also slightly concerned as the older boy hovered on the stairs. Luke’s face flamed beneath the box. “Luke, are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” Luke said calmly, still lying on the floor. One of the cups rolled onto the ground with a clatter and the blond boy cringed. “I’m great. I found the cups… and the streamers.”

“Congratulations,” Michael said. Luke could hear footsteps in the seconds before the box was being lifted off. Luke’s cheeks were ridiculously flushed and his blond hair was sticking up everywhere. Michael smiled down at him crookedly, his black hair a messy halo around his heart-shaped face as he grinned.

“You alright down there, Lukey?” he asked and Luke smiled weakly, accepting Michael’s outstretched hand and straightening up with another clatter of pumpkin cups.

“Yup. _Right_ where I wanted to be,” Luke mumbled, scarlet now. “On the f-floor…”

“You can stop talking whenever you want, Lukey,” Michael pointed out with a knowing smirk. Luke laughed awkwardly but his eyes were surprisingly soft as he looked at the older boy.

“So can you,” Luke said teasingly and, somehow, they were kissing.

Michael’s hands were soft as they slipped up to cup the blond boy’s cheeks and Luke sighed into the kiss as the last pumpkin cup clattered to the floor.

“Guys? What’s taking so long?!” Calum called from upstairs and they broke apart. Luke giggled weakly, dazed, as Michael’s head fell to rest against the blond boy’s broad shoulder.

“Why do we keep kissing in Calum’s basement?” the black-haired boy mumbled and Luke laughed, his heart pounding in his chest at the acknowledgement because…. because hearing it out loud like that meant that he wasn’t imagining this which was… _crazy_.

Luke’s cheeks were flushed as the pair of them gathered the cups and streamers together quickly and Michael was smiling sheepishly as they both straightened up to carry the stuff back upstairs.

Luke’s hand hesitantly found Michael’s in the semi-darkness and the black-haired boy gave it a comforting squeeze.

Neither of them said anything.

When Calum and Ashton saw how much the pair were blushing when they finally emerged into the kitchen upstairs, they immediately started asking pointed questions about whether ‘Muke’ was a thing yet. It made Luke beyond embarrassed since he was pretty sure he hadn’t wrapped his head around whatever they might be yet and he _really_ needed them to stop.

“Guys, just piss off, will you?” Michael asked wearily, dropping the box of decorations on the table and winking at Luke over his shoulder when the blond boy snorted out a surprised laugh. “Quit asking stupid questions.”

Michael didn’t say no though.

Neither did Luke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully this was okay.. Let me know what you thought if you like. Thanks for reading <3


	10. Skywards

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're over halfway through now and I'd like to apologise for the delay!  
> I hope you guys will enjoy this absolutely tooth-rotting fluff. It's disgusting honestly. I'm so sorry. :') <3

Calum’s Halloween party wasn’t for another week yet and Luke was _bored_.

Nothing very Halloween-y was happening because everyone at home was busy with work or college, Calum and Ashton were making out and being _really_ antisocial about it, and Michael’s parents were encouraging him to revise and Luke was just… well… he was kind of sulking a bit, to be honest.

Luke finally stopped pouting when Michael texted him surprisingly early on Saturday morning.

**[From MIKEY] Received at 8:23**

**hey lukey! im sorry we havent been doing much halloween stuff lately but ive had an idea!!! meet me at the end of your road in 20 minutes, ok? this’ll be awesome!! ^_^ xx**

Luke frowned faintly at the mysterious text but his pale lips twitched up into a smile all the same and he got ready quickly.

True to his word, Michael was waiting for Luke at the end of his road, leaning against the street sign, dressed in a black denim shirt beneath his leather jacket. He was wearing his signature scuffed combat boots and fingerless gloves, and he spread his arms and pulled Luke into a tight hug when the younger boy loped over to him, wrapping his own arms securely around the black-haired boy’s waist.

“Hey, Mikey,” Luke said softly, tucking his face away into the older boy’s neck and pressing his cold little nose to the comforting-smelling skin there. “I missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too,” Michael said regretfully, pulling back and dropping a gentle kiss onto the end of Luke’s nose. The blond boy giggled, his cheeks flushing. “I’m sorry I’ve been so busy. That’s why I wanted us to do something good today. Just us.”

It sounded… like a _date_.

Kind of. Almost. Maybe.

“What’re we gonna do, Mikey?” Luke asked softly, sticking one cold hand into the pockets of his skinny jeans and shyly entwining the fingers of his other hand with Michael’s.

“We’re going to the Pumpkin Patch,” Michael explained and Luke’s whole face lit up at that because he’d had his heart set on it but he hadn’t thought he’d get a chance to go.

“Michael, thank you!” Luke cried, pressing a tiny kiss to the corner of the older boy’s mouth before he’d had a chance to think about it.

Luke flushed the colour of a fire engine when he realised what he’d done but Michael’s emerald green eyes were pleased and soft as he towed Luke along gently beneath the fiery leaves stretching skywards around them.

The Pumpkin Patch was enormous. There were still a few yellowish flowers blooming on the vines of the plants but, for the most part, there were pumpkins _everywhere_. The air itself seemed to crackle with _autumn_ and _Halloween_ , and Luke actually gave a little squeak of excitement when he saw them. Michael’s heart clenched with fondness.

Luke dragged Michael excitedly through the lines of pumpkins, feet sliding in the slippery grass as they darted along beneath the washed-out lilac of the sky. The air was crisp and fresh, and Michael’s cheeks were as red as an apple when Luke looked up at him with shining, crinkling blue eyes, beaming as his teeth played with the metal ring piercing his lip.

“Go wild,” Michael said and Luke grinned at him, wheeling away to search for the perfect pumpkin.

A cool wind whistled across the farmland and the trees nearby rustled, their low branches swaying in the breeze. The closer to the shade they grew, the brighter orange the pumpkins were because they’d been protected from the elements.

Luke ended up there almost naturally and Michael followed him at a short-distance, watching fondly and without any exasperation at all as the blond boy changed his mind again and again, indecisive and picky but _so_ sweet that Michael couldn’t find it in himself to get irritated.

After well over an hour and a half, Luke appeared in front of Michael, arms weighed down with a colossal pumpkin as the biggest smile ever lit up his pale face.

“Can we get this one please, Mikey?” Luke asked in a small voice and Michael smiled, cupping the younger boy’s face gently between his palms and kissing his forehead.

“Of course we can, Lukey,” Michael promised.

They wandered over to the lady manning the stall to purchase the pumpkin with their arms brushing gently together and… and it felt so _right_ , walking through life with Luke beside him and yet they hadn’t even talked about this yet… about what they were or what their kisses meant and… and although Michael _knew_ that they’d have to talk about it eventually, for now he was content to just spend time with Luke.

It felt perfect.

The blond boy was smiling so brightly the whole way home that Michael was pretty sure he would have done _anything_ to keep Luke happy, even - _god_ \- helping him carve the damn _pumpkin_.

It was a job Michael had never exactly relished but he thought he’d do anything to keep Luke smiling. Unfortunately Michael’s clumsiness let him down though and it wasn’t long before he managed to slice his thumb with the knife during his slightly lame attempts at pumpkin carving.

The blade was so sharp that it didn’t even hurt luckily but he still made a surprised squawking noise when he saw the blood welling up and Luke looked up in alarm from where he’d been gathering the pumpkin seeds in a bowl so that they could be roasted later.

The blond boy made a soft clucking sound and towed Michael gently over to the sink, holding his sore thumb gently beneath the stream of cool water as Luke rifled through the drawers one-handed in his search for a plaster.

Luke looked triumphant when he finally found one and he removed Michael’s hand gently, patting the cut dry with some kitchen roll before he urged the older boy up onto the counter. Michael sat there, swinging his legs distractedly as he watched Luke carefully sticking a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle plaster over the cut. Luke pressed a kiss to Michael’s thumb afterwards and the black-haired boy decided that it could definitely be worse.

Luke was standing between Michael’s legs, still cradling the older boy’s sore hand gently between his own, and they both seemed to realise their proximity at the same time because Michael’s eyes clouded with something that stole Luke’s breath and the blond boy’s eyes fluttered shut of their own accord as he closed the distance between them, his lips molding gently against Michael’s.

The kiss was warm and soft, _safe_ in the kitchen as the tap dripped water and Michael’s free arm wound around Luke’s shoulders, and there might have been some runaway pumpkin seeds on the counter but Michael was definitely _not_ going to be the one to point that out.

Luke pressed closer, deepening the kiss with hesitant little licks of his tongue and it made the kitchen feel almost _too_ hot now and, even as Michael’s thumb began to throb with pain, Luke sighed softly against his lips as his hand slipped up to curl in the older boy’s hair.

Michael didn’t mind in the slightest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this was okay/worth the wait!  
> Please let me know what you thought <3


	11. Blossoming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this isn't any longer and that it's taken me so long but we're almost there now.  
> Maybe 4-5 chapters left if memory serves correctly.  
> Hope this is okay <3

Luke and Michael weren’t seeing that much of Calum and Ashton at the moment, largely on account of the fact that the two never seemed to leave Ashton’s bed anymore. They were so caught up in each other and that was probably the only reason that they hadn’t noticed Michael and Luke’s relationship blossoming into… _something_.

It was new and unexplored territory that made their pulses thunder in their veins as their lips met, and Luke couldn’t get enough of it. Judging by the flush on Michael’s cheeks and his sparkling eyes when they broke apart to _breathe_ again, neither could Michael.

The pair of them went shopping for Halloween costumes on Friday after school and Luke was _so_ excited. He loved the annual Halloween party and he was excited to see Calum and Ashton too, since they’d been being so antisocial lately. (Plus, Michael always looked super cute in whatever outfit he chose so Luke was looking forward to seeing that as well.)

“To the costume shop!” Michael said dramatically when the pair of them left school and Luke snorted with laughter, didn’t even realise he’d grabbed Michael’s _hand_ until they were running down the road together, giggling stupidly with their fingers entwined and great smiles on their faces.

Michael frowned faintly when they reached the costume shop because it was different. It looked like it was owned by someone else now and the stuff in the window didn’t look the same anymore. Luke went quiet and Michael worried his full bottom lip with his teeth, opening the door with the little bell over it and leading Luke in.

They’d only browsed around for a few minutes before Luke came to a quiet, wounded-sounding conclusion.

“The costumes are kind of… lame this year…”

Luke’s bottom lip was wobbling a tiny bit. Michael panicked.

“Then we just need to find the lamest one here, Lukey! We’ll look amazing! People will be talking about it for years!”

Luke’s pale pink lips twitched up into a weak smile and Michael grinned, relieved.

“There’s a cheeseburger costume behind you, Mikey,” Luke said quietly and his eyes were soft. “I think you should wear that.”

*

Calum and Ashton were judging them.

Possibly _everyone_ would judge them too when they went to the party but Luke couldn’t quite find it in himself to care.

Michael was going to be wearing the cheeseburger costume and Luke had found a hot dog outfit – complete with squiggly lines of mustard and ketchup – and _damnit_ , they were going to have fun.

Calum and Ashton had found superhero costumes to wear but Michael had insisted that that was “unoriginal and lame”. To be fair though, that was exactly what Calum and Ashton had said when they’d seen Luke and Michael’s outfits on Saturday morning when they’d all tried them on together.

Luke thought it was actually quite amazing.

The lettuce part of Michael’s costume made his emerald green eyes shine extra bright and the older boy had been wearing eyeliner randomly on the day they’d gone out to buy it, and Michael said the tights Luke had to wear as part of his costume looked weirdly good, and that Friday after school in the costume shop was just a bit of a blur really and Luke loved every minute of it.

(Maybe they kissed in the changing rooms when they were getting ready – with tongues hot and fingers tangling in hair – but you can’t prove it. No one can.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you thought :)


	12. Fire Away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of crack but mostly just tooth-rotting fluff. Sorry not sorry.

Michael and Luke went trick-or-treating before the Halloween party that night. It was a cool evening but they were almost _too_ warm in their costumes, partly from embarrassment, partly from their close proximity to each other and… well… because they were wearing spandex.

Luke thought it was freeing. Michael wasn’t convinced. He liked cheeseburgers though so it would have to do.

“Let’s start over on Ashton’s block and then we can work our way towards your place,” Luke decided as he towed Michael along by the hand, his movements comical because he was dressed as a gigantic hotdog. “And then we can leave our sweets at mine before the party.”

“Oh yes! So they don’t get stolen by Ashton and Calum again like last time!” Michael realised and Luke smiled at him, ducking his head to press a tiny kiss to the corner of Michael’s mouth.

They still hadn’t really talked about it yet – about **them** – but the sadness that sometimes unfurled in Luke’s eyes was muted now, barely there, and Michael took heart from that. He was happy and, by the looks of things, so was Luke. That was all that mattered. There’d be a time for talking later.

The leaves were falling from the trees overhead and Luke’s fingers curled around Michael’s as they left the last house they were visiting, novelty pumpkin bags brimming with sweets as they walked back towards Luke’s house to store their sweets safely.

Michael hesitated when they left Luke’s house and started back down the driveway afterwards. It was dark out and the streetlights were glowing softly through the inky blackness. Luke let out a tiny sigh – he did that sometimes and it set warning bells ringing in Michael’s head – and the black-haired boy reached for him, wrapping his arms around Luke with difficulty (the cheeseburger costume was getting in the way) and dropping a kiss onto his cheek.

“You okay, Lukey?” Michael asked softly and Luke blushed as he twisted, catching Michael’s lips in his own instead.

"Yeah,” Luke promised, letting his forehead fall to rest on Michael’s shoulder. There were large sesame seeds stuck to his costume and they were kind of rubbing Luke’s face. “I... I wanna tell you something, Mikey."

The black-haired boy was watching Luke with something indecipherable burning in his emerald green eyes. "Fire away, Lukey," Michael said at last and Luke smiled at him, his voice a little shaky but his eyes clear.

“Things were kind of really fucking hard before we… y’know… c-changed and…. and I didn’t always feel that good,” the blond boy said after a moment, his words carefully measured, his fingers entwined with Michael’s. “B-but I just… I want you to know that it’s different now. I _feel_ different… and I think that’s thanks to you, Mikey.” Luke bit his lip, sucking at his lip-ring nervously as his eyes fell to the floor. “I couldn’t do this without you.”

Michael’s hand was shaking when he gently reached to raise Luke’s chin. “I couldn’t do this without you either,” the black-haired boy promised and –

Yeah, that did kind of make Luke feel better.

His lips met Michael’s again and Luke sighed contentedly into the kiss as Michael cupped Luke’s face gently with his cold hands, stroking the skin under Luke’s closed eyes with the pads of his thumbs.

“C’mon,” Luke said with a slightly triumphant smile on his face. “Let’s go to Cal’s place. It’s not a party without us.”

“ _The party don’t start ‘til I walk in_ ,” Michael sang dramatically and Luke rolled his eyes, fighting not to giggle at how proud the older boy looked of himself.

“I don’t know why I like you,” Luke teased but he was wearing a damn _hotdog_ costume and Michael couldn’t have cared less.

“It’s because of my angelic face,” Michael told him seriously.

Luke laughed so hard he snorted.

*

Luke loved the years when the Halloween party was hosted at Calum’s house.

The dark-haired boy’s house was bigger than the rest of theirs and Mali always took hostage of the CD player so there was actually good music playing most of the time which was nice.

Everyone laughed at their costumes too but it seemed like they were _mostly_ laughing with them instead of at them so Luke figured it could probably be a lot worse.

Michael tried to do a sweeping bow when he entered the room but it backfired because his cheeseburger costume got in the way. Luke just hid behind Michael until the laughter of their schoolmates had died down.

Someone had found some beers from somewhere and Luke was well on the way to tipsy when he finally slumped down onto one of the sofas in the living room, lying sprawled across Calum and Ashton as he pulled Michael down on top of him.

Ashton wailed dramatically like they were all crushing him and Calum made that funny wheezy noise he did sometimes when he was laughing so hard that no sound came out. Ashton’s eyes glittered as he looked at his boyfriend and Luke felt fondness welling up inside him because those two were so cute and he’d _missed_ them!

“You two don’t love me and Lukey anymore,” Michael said dramatically from where he was lying on top of them all. The bun part of his costume was blocking out most of the light and their cuddle on the sofa was shrouded in shade.

“Yes, we do!” Ashton said earnestly before his full lips tugged up into a slightly bashful grin. “We just wanted to give you two some time to… y’know…”

“Stop being embarrassing!” Luke squeaked, his cheeks flaming.

“Also, we wanted to have sex too. A lot,” Calum said in a deadpan voice before he gave another of those funny laughs. Ashton rolled his eyes, elbowing Calum lightly in the ribs.

“You don’t have to tell _them_ that, Cal! I know we’re not exactly in polite company but…”

"Rude!" Michael laughed, letting his head fall down to rest in the gentle curve of Luke’s neck as the blond boy petted his dark hair absently.

“How _are_ you two anyway?” Ashton asked softly and Luke found it kind of weird that they could talk about this now but it wasn’t necessarily _bad_. “Is our cunning plan working?”

“Maybe,” Luke said, fighting not to smile. “Not telling.”

Michael was watching Luke fondly again, his eyes glittering and his fingertips soft as he touched Luke’s jaw gently. Luke’s lips met his almost without meaning to and Michael let out a tiny contented sigh as he tilted his head slightly to kiss him back.

There was a moment of absolute silence, during which Calum and Ashton stared at their best friends in shock, and Luke and Michael let their foreheads fall to rest together as they smiled softly.

"That didn't look like a first kiss," Calum pointed out at last, slightly drunk but mostly just confused, and Luke smiled against Michael's lips as the black-haired boy ducked down for another fleeting kiss.

"That's because it wasn't," Michael said with a roll of his eyes when he finally looked away from the blond boy.

Calum and Ashton began to squawk at each other excitedly.

Luke couldn't even bring himself to mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fingers crossed this was okay - please let me know what you thought!  
> I'm sorry I haven't been able to post so much recently. Lots of stuff is happening with jobs ending and boyfriends and stuff. It's kind of busy.  
> Anyway, there's not too much of this left now so I hope you liked it :)


	13. A Recipe For Inevitable Disaster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had so much fun writing this because they're so lame and cute and also now it's reminding me of my boyfriend and uRGHGHGH FEELINGS.  
> Okay. Sorry.  
> Also I think there'll probably be 3 more updates including this one.  
> And there's going to be feelings and soppy fluffy stuff... I literally cannot wait.

Calum and Ashton were like two insufferably over-excited puppies now that they knew about Michael and Luke’s **thing**.

The worst part was that Luke couldn’t even find it in himself to be annoyed though because he was so sickeningly _happy_ all the time. Plus, it was kind of thanks to Ashton and Calum that he and Michael had even happened in the first place so Luke figured they should probably be grateful for that too.

Calum and Ashton had invited Michael and Luke to the cinema with them on Saturday but they had politely declined. Luke was relieved to be honest – autumn was almost over and he wanted to spend the last few weeks of it with Michael.

They decided to go to an Autumn County Fair together on Saturday instead and Luke was bouncing excitedly on the balls of his feet as he lingered on Michael’s doorstep, waiting for the older boy to finish lacing his boots. Michael looked up at Luke as he did so, smiling at him so sweetly that Luke’s heart felt like it was melting in his chest.

“C’mon,” Luke said softly and Michael grinned, lacing his fingers with Luke’s as he towed the taller boy down the driveway and onto the pavement at the end. They shared Michael’s headphones and listened to _Jesus of Suburbia_ on the long walk to the park where the Fair was being hosted, and Luke could scarcely keep his smile off his face when Michael gave his hand a comforting little squeeze.

It was a crisp day, the sun burning low in the sky and red apples clinging to the branches of the trees in the park. There were lots of different tents set up, all of them hosting different activities and wares – Luke liked the woven leather jewellery most while Michael preferred the thick pumpkin soup that was being sold in little polystyrene cups by the gates.

The pair of them wandered around the Fair for almost two hours, fingers entwined and cheeks flushed with the cold, and Luke felt happier than he could ever remember feeling with Michael’s hand holding his own.

The pair of them walked home to Michael’s house that afternoon with their arms linked between them. Luke was wearing a dark overcoat and the material was soft against Michael’s skin where he’d rolled the sleeves of his jumper back.

It was warm in Michael’s house and Luke had shed his coat and jumper within minutes of entering, leaving him in a soft grey t-shirt and skinny jeans as he padded up Michael’s stairs in his socks. He grabbed the older boy’s hand without thinking and Michael suppressed a smile as Luke led him around his own house.

“You’re so cute,” Michael said to the back of Luke’s head as he followed the blond boy into his bedroom. Luke’s hair was in disarray from where he’d struggled out of his jumper and it was sticking up in every direction around his head. It made him look fragile and sweet, and Michael’s heart was beating fit to burst in the confines of his chest as he pulled Luke into a hug. Luke smelt good, like cinnamon and vanilla, and Michael never wanted to let him go.

When Luke knotted his little fingers into the back of Michael’s jumper and held on tight, Michael figured that maybe he felt the same way.

(When Luke smiled softly and leant down to catch Michael’s cherry-red lips in a gentle kiss, it confirmed it.)

The pair of them messed around after that, building a slightly tragic-looking blanket fort using Michael’s desk and his swivel chair (which, clearly, was a recipe for inevitable disaster). They dragged the duvet and the pillows off Michael’s bed, and Luke was actually quite proud of the fort until it collapsed on top of them when they cautiously sat down in it.

Then they just decided it was a nest instead and it worked _almost_ as well when the late afternoon sunlight painted the bedroom walls orange and they found the fourth Harry Potter film playing on TV.

Michael and Luke lay cuddled up together beneath the mound of blankets, and it felt so warm and cosy and _safe_ that Michael didn’t exactly find it surprising when Luke began to yawn as he settled down more comfortably beside Michael.

It had just got to the part where Harry was about to begin the second task in the lake when Luke dropped off to sleep with his head cushioned on Michael’s shoulder, held safe against the older boy’s chest.

The sun was setting outside and Luke was warm in Michael’s arms.

It was only when Michael looked down at Luke’s sleeping face that he realised he might love him.

“Oh my god,” Michael said out loud as Harry fell into the lake.

Luke stayed right on sleeping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you guys liked this!  
> Thank you so much for reading and please tell me what you think! <3


	14. Closest Thing To Perfect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally can't write anything PG anymore and it's such a problem.  
> I HOPE YOU GUYS DON'T HATE THIS OMG ONLY ONE CHAPTER LEFT

Ashton’s family hosted a bonfire party that weekend with fireworks and sparklers. There were less people there than there had been at Calum’s Halloween party but it was nicer, Luke thought. More intimate maybe.

The guests spread out in Ashton’s back garden, sitting on rugs or fold-up plastic chairs that occasionally toppled over and sent unsuspecting party-goers tumbling into the wet grass.

Luke got ridiculously excited when Ashton’s mum brought the tray of sparklers out for everyone. There weren’t quite enough but Luke didn’t mind. He simply shared Michael’s instead, suppressing his gleeful smile as Michael squeezed his gloved hand gently, raising the lit sparkler.

Michael moved the sparkler in Luke’s hand, tracing a heart in the air and making Luke blush as he glanced over his shoulder at the older boy, only to lose himself in the glittering emerald green of Michael’s eyes.

“You’re really beautiful,” Luke mumbled unthinkingly, leaning back and soaking in the warmth of Michael’s body as the older boy tried hard not to smile, writing their names in the darkness as the sparks tumbled down onto the wet ground.

“So are you,” Michael murmured after a moment, hesitantly pressing his lips to the back of the younger boy’s neck where his scarf had slipped aside. “Luke, I have something to tell you,” Michael said softly and Luke’s heart skipped a beat in his chest.

“What is it?” the blond boy asked softly, letting the fizzled-out sparkler drop into the bucket of water Ashton’s mum had put nearby before he twisted to face Michael, wrapping his arms around the older boy’s middle.

“I passed my driving test yesterday,” Michael said, dropping a fleeting kiss onto the tip of Luke’s upturned nose. “So now I can drive you places.”

“Mikey, that’s great!” Luke exclaimed, beaming as he cupped the older boy’s cheeks in his gloved hands. “I didn’t even know you were taking your test!”

“Well, I wanted to surprise you,” Michael said and he looked so bashful standing there with his rosy cheeks and long eyelashes that Luke couldn’t help but kiss him.

Calum cheered excitedly when he spotted them, nudging Ashton. Apparently neither of them were over it yet.

Michael rolled his eyes when he drew away unwillingly, lacing his fingers with Luke’s and letting his head fall to rest on the blond boy’s broad shoulder as they stood beside the bonfire. The embers and sparks were floating up into the dark night sky and it was unbearably beautiful.

Just like Michael.

*

The party ended at around nine that night, early enough that Ashton’s younger siblings didn’t stay up too late. Ashton told Luke and Michael they could stay if they wanted but the pair declined because Calum’s arms wrapped warmly around Ashton’s waist as he spoke and they could see that the pair wanted to be alone together really.

“It’s okay,” Michael said with a soft smile playing across his full lips. “We’ll hang out tomorrow instead, yeah?”

“Sure,” Ashton grinned, giggling when Calum pulled him into a tighter hug. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, kids.”

“You’re only a year older than us, Ashy,” Luke pointed out with a raised eyebrow but the curly-haired boy wasn’t really listening anymore because Calum’s hands had just slipped up to cup his cheeks.

“C’mon,” Michael said, rolling his eyes at Luke good-naturedly. “Let’s leave before they start having sex.”

Luke laughed, biting his lip-ring as his cheeks flushed with blood, and Michael’s eyes were so soft as he carefully entwined his fingers with the blond boy’s.

“Want me to walk you home, Lukey?” the black-haired boy suggested and Luke pulled a face, moving closer to Michael so that their arms were pressed warmly together.

“I don’t want to go home yet. I want to stay with you.”

Michael tried not to look like Luke had just made his whole year with those words but it wasn’t easy with the huge smile playing across his face.

“Shall we go for a drive in mum’s truck then?” Michael suggested and Luke looked confused for a moment before he remembered what Michael had said earlier. He nodded excitedly and Michael’s smile softened so much that Luke had to pull him into a gentle kiss. He _had_ to. There was literally no other option.

“Let’s go!” Luke said, his tired eyes sparkling at Michael through the darkness. “I want to see the stars with you.”

Michael’s fingertips were soft as he gently touched Luke’s jaw.

“I think we can manage that.”

*

The glass in the windows was cool against Luke’s cheek as he sat huddled up on the passenger seat of Michael’s mum’s truck. The heating was a bit creaky but they were listening to All Time Low and, although Michael kept his green eyes fixed safely on the dark road in front of them, Luke could see Michael’s lips threatening to curl up into a tiny smile whenever Luke said something.

It was very dark now but there was a full moon shining overhead and it cast the trees they were driving past into silvery light. The leaves were a thousand fiery hues and Luke could smell Michael’s aftershave. He wanted to kiss him _so_ much but he wasn’t allowed because Michael would probably end up driving the truck into a tree if that happened.

“This spot looks good,” Michael decided when he turned a bend in the road and saw an empty car park at the top of the hill. It was surrounded by pine trees but there was a break in the foliage so they could see the stars.

“Shall we sit in the truck bed?” Luke suggested and Michael nodded, grabbing some blankets from the backseat and following Luke outside as the younger boy scrambled up into the back of the truck.

It was cold but Michael’s arms were warm when they wrapped around Luke’s shoulders and the blond boy snuggled closer beneath the blankets, letting his cheek rest on Michael’s shoulder as he raised his hand clumsily to card through the older boy’s dark hair.

Michael’s mouth tugged up into a smile when he spied Luke watching him and his lips were so beautiful, this bright cherry-red and so _soft_ and full. Luke wanted to suck one into his mouth maybe, sink his teeth into it.

Michael caught Luke’s lips with his own, tangling his fingers in Luke’s soft blond hair and raising his head to kiss him harder, like maybe he knew what the younger boy was thinking.

The kiss was safe, all cold noses and hot breath and trembling hands, and it was the closest thing to perfect Luke had ever felt.

Luke's heart was in his throat when they finally drew apart and his breath was a cloud above him as he struggled to calm down but Michael’s hand was warm in his and their legs were tangled together beneath the blankets.

They lay like that for almost an hour until Michael decided he was hungry and cold and wanted hot chocolate, and Luke couldn’t even pretend to mind because his teeth were beginning to chatter and it was absolutely _freezing_ now.

They went back to Luke’s house – quiet because everyone but his dad was out and Andrew was working on something in the study – and Luke felt _comfortable_ walking through the dark house with Michael’s fingers tangled between his own, felt like the older boy belonged there maybe, with him.

Luke leant against the counter in the kitchen, waiting for the kettle to boil as hot steam curled up into the air. Michael had been leaning against the counter opposite but he crossed the dimly lit kitchen, wrapping his arms gently around Luke’s waist as he pressed up warmly against him. It made Luke’s breath stutter in his throat, made his heart race too fast in his chest as his own arms wound around Michael, one hand falling to the small of his back, encouraging him to press closer.

Luke was falling in love with Michael. He could _feel_ it and it didn’t scare him at all anymore, not when he was fairly certain the older boy felt the same way.

Michael felt good pressed against him – _better_ than good – and the denim of his jeans was rough against Luke’s fingers when his hands slipped further down, making Michael’s teeth sink into Luke’s lip as he sighed contentedly into the younger boy's mouth.

It would be easy to take Michael into his bedroom with him. _So_ easy. All Luke had to do was take Michael's hand and lead him upstairs.

They could kiss on the landing, hands searching blindly for the door handle before they fell into Luke's bedroom - onto Luke's _bed_ - and the blond boy knew it would feel good. How could it _not_ when he was thinking about doing **things** with Michael?

It would be so, _so_ easy. Luke wanted it.

" _L-Lukey_ ," Michael pleaded, voice needy, apparently no longer bothered about hot chocolate. The blond boy smiled against Michael's soft red lips as he pushed away from the counter.

"C'mon," the blond boy murmured, pressing a tiny kiss to the corner of Michael's mouth.

Luke took Michael's hand and led him upstairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you thought and, again, thank you so much for reading! <3


	15. Say Goodbye To Autumn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually so emotional right now - I can't believe this is over!  
> It was sickeningly fluffy and incredibly fun to write!  
> I hope you guys will enjoy this last chapter <3  
> It feels like a very long time coming!  
> (Also I'm really proud of myself for the chapter title because I'm lame. Just so you're all aware of this.)

There was a firework event happening in town and there’d been posters up for weeks. There was going to be a fifteen minute display with food trucks and music and fairground rides, and all of their friends were going, Calum and Ashton included.

Luke was incredibly excited. Autumn was his absolute favourite time of the year – this season especially had been wonderful – and a firework display with hot food, a Waltzer, and all of his friends sounded like a brilliant way to say goodbye to autumn.

Calum and Ashton were loudly proclaiming that it was going to be the best night of the year so far, and Luke was equally excited, scrolling through his Facebook pictures that showed how much fun he’d had at the event last year with an enormous smile on his face.

Michael was being mysteriously quiet.

He seemed nervous and wary in the days leading up to the event, and it was kind of starting to worry Luke although Michael insisted it was nothing, simply blushing bright red whenever the younger boy brought it up.

When the day of the firework event dawned and Michael _still_ looked just as uncomfortable as he had done for the last week, Luke finally drew the older boy aside, trying to hide how much his hands were trembling as he tugged Michael away from Calum and Ashton by the sleeve.

The four of them had been wandering around the shops in town but the tension rolling off of Michael in waves was setting Luke on edge and making his anxiety flare up.

“Mikey?” Luke’s voice was small and hopeless, and the concern blazing in Michael’s emerald green eyes when he looked up at Luke made confusion blossom in Luke’s chest. “You’re being… different.” The blond boy bit his lip, hanging his head and biting down on his bottom lip so that it wouldn’t have a chance to wobble. “Do you… do you r-regret…?”

Michael looked appalled but his hands were soft as he cupped Luke’s face gently, his thumbs rubbing soothingly under the blond boy’s tired eyes.

“Of course I don’t, Lukey!” Michael promised, his eyes wide like he was shocked that he’d made Luke think something so crazy. “I _love_ y– Uh, spending time with you! I could never regret that!”

Luke’s blue eyes were sparkling faintly but he still looked worried.

“Then what’s wrong?” he breathed when he saw the hesitance bleeding back into Michael’s eyes.

“It… it’s really stupid,” Michael mumbled and Luke’s eyes flashed at that because he _hated_ the knowledge that maybe someone had discounted something Michael had said before, made him feel like it wasn’t worthwhile.

“Try me,” Luke said, the late-autumn sunlight flashing off the burnished gold of his hair, his fiery blue eyes locked on Michael’s face. “Because if it’s important to you then it’s _not_ stupid. Not in the slightest.”

Michael’s eyes softened infinitesimally but he still looked worried.

“I… I don’t really… I d-don’t like fireworks.”

He looked disgusted with himself but Luke could see the fear in Michael’s eyes now that he knew to look for it and it kind of _hurt_.

Luke’s arms wound around Michael’s tensed shoulders and he played with the soft little black hairs growing at the base of Michael’s skull. Luke rubbed his fingertips over the skin there and Michael’s jaw went slack as he let his forehead fall to rest against Luke’s broad shoulder, like it felt really good.

“It’s not stupid,” Luke promised, his lips brushing Michael’s neck as one of his hands fell to rub Michael’s back soothingly instead. Ashton and Calum had already wandered into another shop by now so the pair were alone.

“ _Luke_ –” Michael began hopelessly, like he was about to disagree.

“I mean it, Mikey,” the blond boy said, drawing back so that he could press a kiss to Michael’s forehead instead. “It’s a perfectly valid fear. Lots of people are frightened of them.” Luke bit his lip, his blue eyes sad as he brushed Michael’s overheated cheek gently with his knuckle. “Did you think I was going to laugh at you? Mike, I’m scared of talking in front of more than three people.”

“Shut up,” Michael said but he was smiling faintly now.

“Didn’t the fireworks at Ash’s place scare you?” Luke whispered after a moment and Michael shrugged half-heartedly as his expression tightened, face flaming and ashamed.

“I didn’t want you to miss it,” he said. Michael’s hair was soft beneath Luke’s fingers when he stroked it back from Michael’s forehead.

“I don’t mind missing this one,” Luke said honestly and his voice might have been steady but his hands were trembling. “You’re more important. A lot more.”

Michael pulled Luke into a grateful hug and the blond boy hid his smile in Michael’s neck, holding on tight as the cars rumbled quietly past them and Michael’s lips found Luke’s cheek.

“I’ll never regret you, Luke,” Michael repeated suddenly, like he could tell the blond boy was still worrying silently from earlier. Luke’s cheeks flushed with blood and he looked down at Michael, his beautiful face so kind that it took the older boy’s breath away.

“I’ll never regret you either,” the blond boy said softly, his voice sure.

Luke drew Michael into a kiss.

*

The pair of them decided to stay at Luke’s instead, sitting cuddled up together on the cushions covering the window seat, wrapped up in Luke’s duvet.

They got the best of both worlds that way.

Michael could see The Nightmare Before Christmas playing on the blond boy’s laptop where they’d balanced it on the edge of the desk and Luke could see the fireworks from a distance if he craned his head to look out of the window.

Luke wasn’t particularly bothered about the fireworks though.

He had a beautiful Michael Clifford snuggled safely to his chest and he seemed _much_ more worthy of Luke’s attention.

The blond boy stroked Michael’s hair gently, carding his fingers through the dark waves and rubbing his fingertips on Michael’s scalp, making the smaller boy stretch contentedly like a cat in a patch of sunlight.

“Mikey?” Luke asked softly, his voice little more than a murmur as he brushed the black-haired boy’s fringe away from his forehead. Luke ducked his head to kiss the end of Michael’s nose when he looked up at him and Michael smiled slow and easy, his hand forming a loose fist in the material of Luke’s jumper, his rosy cheek soft where it was resting against the blond boy’s chest.

“I love you,” Luke said quietly and it didn’t feel scary like he’d been expecting it to. It felt _safe_.

Michael’s emerald green eyes were shining and Luke’s breath escaped him in a contented sigh when Michael stretched up to kiss him chastely in the early evening.

“I love you too,” Michael whispered back, his eyes glittering, his cherry-red lips tugging up into a mischievous smile when Luke’s hopeful blue eyes settled on his face. “Always will.”

Luke beamed, smiling so wide his face hurt as he cupped Michael’s cheeks gently, dropping kisses all over him.

“Always, always, always,” Luke giggled, feeling something click inside him.

He thought that, with Michael there beside him, they were probably going to be happy for a very long time.

(As it turned out, Luke was right.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so so so much for reading!  
> I hope you liked it and that it cheered you up a little bit if you needed it <3  
> Please let me know what you thought!  
> I can't believe it's over!

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you thought by leaving comments and kudos!  
> It means the world! :) ♥


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